Earning SPG Points with Pre-Tax Transit Funds

So I don’t know about you guys, but I spend my Pre-Tax Transit funds basically like it’s free money (I recognize that’s not the right thing to do, I know, I know). Because I can buy transit expenses with pre-tax money (read: not taxed at about 30% or so), everything I buy with it is basically discounted in my view.

The Scoop

One of my favorite things to spend my hard earned pre-tax transit dollars on is ridesharing programs like Uber Pool or Via. Taking the subway in New York City on the weekend is basically like playing a game of chicken, so I try to walk or take a cab to get around on weekends. That being said, Uber Pool is something I use frequently – sometimes the cost of a ride is just a dollar more than taking the subway – oh and it actually shows up.

Not too long ago, Uber and WageWorks partnered up to allow WageWorks customers to use their pre-tax transit funds for Uber Pool rides, since this counts as ridesharing. Lucky for me, my company uses WageWorks are our provider for pre-tax transit accounts so I get to use WageWorks to pay for Uber Pool.

Now if you’re as big an SPG fan as Arun and I are, you’ve probably linked your SPG and Uber accounts together (and if you haven’t you’ll want to do so here).

In more good news – it looks like SPG rounds up when giving you o.5 Starpoints for every $1 spent – I earned 3 Starpoints for the $5 Uber ride.

The Takeaway

While I wasn’t a huge fan when Starwood lowered the earning rate on Uber rides, the Uber + WageWorks tie up is an awesome way to earn Starpoints. This is definitely encouraging me to use Uber Pool more (though never to the airport).

As a reminder, per SPG T&Cs, you have to complete one qualifying SPG stay each calendar year to earn points with Uber for that year. Also, use of WageWorks has for Uber Pool is currently limited to the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C., and the state of New Jersey.